Transcript Unit One

Unit
One
Face to face
Study objectives
• The emphasis throughout is on encouraging you to
consider and re-evaluate the social functions of
English.
• In business, it’s important not just to be efficient
and do your job but also to look and sound friendly,
confident, sincere and helpful… and not unfriendly,
insincere, shy or unhelpful!
• Maintaining a competitive edge in the business
world differentiates you from the competition. The
most important advice I can give you is to keep
learning and enhancing your business and social
skills to boost your success with etiquette.
• You never get a second
chance to make a first
impression.
1.1 First Impressions…
• This section introduces the idea that, in
business life, to a great extent, success in
business depends on creating the right
impression. Politeness and formality are
often keys to achieving a desired
communicative effect.
• A good impression reflects your company’s
image (no company wants its customers to
think it’s unpleasant!). If you start off a
relationship in a friendly, pleasant way, it’s
likely to go on in the same way, which will be to
everyone’s advantage.
• Try to be: alert, distinct, friendly, confident,
calm, honest, skilful, intelligent, nice, helpful,
polite
• Try not to be: sleepy, unclear, lazy, dishonest,
clumsy, stupid, prejudiced, inefficient, nasty,
unhelpful, rude
Business Introduction
• Have you ever questioned your
introduction skills?
• If not, you should since making a proper
introduction is a form of business
etiquette and sets the tone for how
others will perceive you. Learning proper
introductions not only enhances your
business savvy but boosts your selfconfidence.
• Making a proper introduction
demonstrates your level of acumen and
respect for others.
• Introductions vary in degrees of
formality.
• Some situations call for formal
introductions; some need informal ones.
Some people seem to favor formal
introductions to persons of
“importance”, and others prefer short
and informal introductions that can help
create a light atmosphere.
• Different situations require different
expressions for greeting and
introducing.
•
To avoid feeling socially awkward and to present
a poised, polished, and professional image upon
meeting and making introductions. Here are
some points to remember when making business
introductions in English-speaking Western
countries:
•
Introduce people in business based on rank, not
gender or age.
In business, the client, guest or visitor outranks
the boss or co-worker and should be introduced
first.
Women and men should stand when introduced.
Always smile and maintain eye contact.
Shake a woman and man's hand the same,
straight up and down. Extend a good, firm (not
painful) handshake to exhibit respect, trust, and
acceptance.
•
•
•
☺Treat business cards with respect. Take
a moment to read them and carefully
put them somewhere safe.
☺Address people by their first names
only if they indicate that they want you
to.
☺ Never use an honorific title such as Ms.,
Mr., or Dr. to introduce yourself.
Small talk
• How do you prepare for the
first contact with a seller or
broker/stranger?
Break the ice
The topics of common
interest/small talk
What is ‘small talk’?
• In most English-speaking countries, it is normal
and necessary to make “small talk” in certain
situations.
• Small talk is a casual form of conversation that
“breaks the ice” or fills an awkward silence
between people. Even though you may feel shy
using your second language, it is sometimes
considered rude to say nothing. Just as there are
certain times when small talk is appropriate,
there are also certain topics that people often
discuss during those moments.
Topics of
Common interests
Weather
Current events
Office
Beautiful day, isn’t it?
It looks like it’s
going to rain.
Did you catch
the news today?
I heard on the radio
Today that…
Looking forward to
The weekend?
What do you think
Of the new computer?
Ending the small talk
• If the small talk continues too long, you may
want to change the subject to business
matters. Here are some ways of doing it:
• with someone you know well:
Let’s get down to business. / Let’s get started.
• with someone you don’t know well:
Perhaps we could talk about the subject of
our meeting.
Shall we talk about the reason I’m here?
Step D
• This step introduces some expressions that used when meeting
someone for the first time, or meeting them again after an
absence. Listen to the conversation and notice how the “small
talk” develops.
• Additional questions:
♫ What is Chris Grey’s job?
♫ What problem did Liz Jones meet ?
♫ Where does Miss Lucas live and where was she raised?
☼ He is Jenny Santini’s assistant.
☼ There was all this fog at Heathrow. We had to go by bus from
there to London. So I didn’t get to my hotel till lunchtime, it was
crazy.
☼ She live in Buenos Aires, but was raised in Mendoza.
1.4 It’s not just what you say…
Ways of communicating
Spoken language
Written language
Body language
What is body language?
Body language is one form of
nonverbal communication (非言辞交
际) without using words. Eye
contact or gaze, facial expression,
gesture (手势), and posture (姿势),
or the way you stand, are
different kinds of body language.
• In this section, we focus on specific ways
in which your non-verbal signals and body
language may influence the way people see
you.
• For example: 1) your tone of voice; 2) your
expression; 3) the noises you make; 4) your
body language and the way you stand or sit;
5) your appearance
How are they feeling?
happy
sad
confident
naughty
excited
depressed
confused
Good/
Well done!
Bad!
Come here!
Good luck!
Me?
I don’t know!
Body language varies from culture to
culture.
Gesture
Country
Meaning
some countries show interest
eye
contact
other countries rude or
disrespectful
moving the index
finger in a circle in
front of the ear
some
crazy
countries
Brazil
You have a
phone call.
Gesture
a circle with
one’s thumb
and index
finger
Country
most
countries
Japan
France
Germany
Brazil
Meaning
OK
money
zero
rude
thumbs up
the US
Nigeria
good / well done
rude
Germany
Japan
No.1
Gestures
Shaking one’s
head
countries
Meaning
Bulgaria, parts
of Greece, Iran
Yes
Other
countries
No
Gestures
Kiss on the
cheek
A firm
handshake
A loving hug
A bow / a nod
of head
countries
France
Meanings
Russia
Greet
friends
Other
countries
What do people usually do
when meeting?
China, Britain
• shake hands
Russia, France, Arab
• kiss
Some western countries • embrace/hug
Japan, Korea
• bow
Maori in New Zealand • touch noses
Step B
• Attention please: the people greeting
the visitors are not all receptionists,
some are people who happen to be in the
office when the visitor arrives---a
situation all members of the class may
find themselves in.
• Which person seems particularly
impolite?
Step A
• This short exercise makes you aware that
first names and surnames are used differently
in different countries.
• There are no ‘correct’ answers to questions 1
to 6, but suggested answers to the last two
questions are: 7c and 8c.
How to use people’s names in the
conversation?
• Surnames →This is polite and shows respect.
It is usual to use surnames at a first meeting.
E.g. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Rivera.
• First names →This is informal and most
frequently used with friends. It is used more
easily in the US.
E.g. Nice to see you, Steve.
• Titles →People with a title are usually
addressed by their title and their surname.
E.g. Good morning, Doctor Smith.
1.5 Developing relationships
• In this section, we also consider the different
ways of talking to different kinds of people,
depending on your relationship.
• Particularly important in this section is ‘small
talk’.
Step A
• You will hear five short conversations
between people who work in the same
company. After hearing each conversation,
discuss these questions with your partner:
1) What is the relationship between the
speakers?
2) What are their jobs?
3) What are they talking about?
• There are no definitive right answers to this
exercise.
• Suggested answers:
1) Tony and Bob have a cordial, informal
relationship. Tony is an overseas sales rep and
Bob is the Export Sales Manager. They’re talking
about problems Tony encountered on a visit to a
client in Copenhagen.
2)Mr. Allen is very friendly and informal but is
superior to Barry and Susanna, who are new to
the company. Mr. Allen is probably office
manager and the other two are clerical staff. Mr.
Allen is explaining who is who in the office.
3) Mr. Green behaves very much as Martin’s
boss. Mr. Green is probably the transport
manager and Martin is a driver. They are
talking about Martin collecting someone at
the airport.
4) Geoff is more experience and probably senior
to Mandy. They have an informal relationship.
They are probably commercial artists or
designers. She’s asking him to evaluate some
work she has done.
5)Tony is junior to Mrs. Lang, she is his boss and
they have a fairly formal relationship. We
can’t tell what their jobs are. They are
talking about Tony having time off on Friday.
Step B
• The issue of what topics are suitable when talking to
strangers is quite complex, and rather personal.
• Clearly there are no hard-and-fast rules about this,
but probably politics and religions are no-go areas, and
your own family might be too personal a topic to talk
about at the start of the meeting.
• Indeed the purpose of a social conversation with a
new person is to discover what you do have in common,
so that you can then exchange experiences.
Step C
• Role-play a meeting between two business associates.
Imagine that one of you has traveled a long way to see
the other. You only meet twice a year, but you’ve
established a good relationship.
• Attention:
Don’t role-play the business phase of the meeting.
1.2 It’s a small world…
• This section involves some essential
vocabulary and a discussion based on a
reading passage.
Step A
• This step introduces some of the principles
involved in forming nationality words.
• It should be done in writing, as spelling is
important here.
• Answers:
an Australian, a Canadian, a Dutchman or
Dutch person, an Indian, a Norwegian, a Swede,
a Brazilian, a Frenchman or French person, a
Hungarian, a New Zealander, a Saudi Arabian,
an American
Step B
• Please consult a map of the world and make a
list of the following countries.
• http://www.9654.com/m/world.htm
• Please find out the principles involved in
forming nationality words.
1.3 What do you enjoy about
your work?
• The speakers interviewed on the recording are
speaking naturally and at their normal speed.
• The speakers all work for a software company,
but there’s no need to have any specialist
knowledge of computers to understand the
main points they each make.
Step A
• Suggest answers:
1) Ian McShane: accountant; day-to-day accounting;
different jobs; deadlines; dealing with finance; being
difficult with people to get money out of them
2) Lesley Trigg:
administrator; correspondence; arranging meetings;
organizing travel; the people she works with; not being
busy
3) Patrick Verdon: systems administrator; troubleshooting; back-up of data; installation; the challenge;
doing routine back-ups; working late
4) Paul Lockwood: training officer; training courses;
direct contact; direct knowledge; stimulating
environment; not being able to do hands-on
programming
Follow-up discussion
• What aspects of your English do you think you
need to improve most of all?
• What have you learnt from this unit that you
will be able to apply in future units and in your
daily work?